Here it is Halloween night, but the wind and rain might be putting an end to the spooky celebrating before it even gets started – sorry, kids! The end of this month also marks the culmination of another Artober celebration for Nashville’s arts community and its audience. Just like last year, Artober 2013 ended with […]

The Frist is in the process of turning-over its galleries to a new program of challenging contemporary art as well as an exhibition of paintings by Norman Rockwell. The highlight of the contemporary displays is 30 Americans — an exhibition of works by African American artists that spans three decades. I’ll be covering all of […]

The whole drama of human history can be traced through fashion and fashions can be described by hair. Where would Cleopatra be without her bangs? What about Bettie Page? Samson went from giant to jellyfish when he lost his curly locks, and any boy or man who’s had a girlfriend or a wife suddenly cut […]

Now that local publications have begun summing up 2013 with best-of-the-year honors, I wanted to mention a couple of shows that slipped through this calendar-tallying season. While the Frist won tons of attention – and visitors – for its summertime celebration Sensuous Steel: Art Deco Automobiles, two of their earlier shows grabbed my gaze and […]

In Jules Verne’s 1882 novel Le Rayon Vert (The Green Ray), the book’s heroes are on an adventure in search of an elusive solar phenomenon: An apparent blast of green light that can sometimes be seen in the last second before sunset. Over a century later, film director Éric Rohmer released a movie by the […]

In the fall, publications that cover visual arts ask their critics to take stock of the year gone by and pin down the best sights they’ve seen in the galleries, museums and pop-up spaces they’ve visited on their beats. I’m having this ongoing conversation with a handful of editors and colleagues, and it’s always awkward […]

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The third annual Nashville Opera movie sing-a-long at Franklin Theatre on July 13 should be practically perfect in every way – it’s Disney’s Mary Poppins in glorious, full-screen Technicolor complete with lyrics so the whole audience can join in, and there are two screenings because of demand! “Nashville Opera is pleased to present one of the most-beloved movies of all time, […]

Not many musicians could have pulled off the sort of concert that French pianist Florence Millet presented on Saturday night at Turner Recital Hall. The works on her program – the expansive slow movement of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, the Sonata 1.X. 1905 of Janacek, the unapologetically modern Sonate (2003) of contemporary French composer François Nicolas, […]

BANDALOOP is coming to OZ Arts Nashville this week, and it’s announcing its arrival Monday with a very special performance that involves one of the city’s downtown buildings. The group’s dancers will present Look Up Nashville!, which takes place down the side of the 28-story UBS Tower (315 Deaderick St.). This unique “sneak peek” of BANDALOOP […]

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Boiler Room Theatre (BRT) opens its 14th season with the Tennessee premiere of the musical Bonnie and Clyde June 5, 6 and 7 in Liberty Hall at The Factory at Franklin. The acclaimed show sports a non-traditional score that combines blues, gospel and rockabilly music. The edge-of-your-seat musical about the real life story of Bonnie Parker […]

Two longtime lovers marry. That’s the starting point of Love is Strange, the latest feature from director Ira Sachs (Keep the Lights On), but while amore may have its unexpected twists, this well-crafted story rightly notes some human behaviors in the wider world are sadly predictable. That’s because the lovers (together for 39 years as […]

Street Theatre Company brings the classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar to musical life as part of its acclaimed In Concert series beginning this Friday. The beloved theatrical brainchild of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (with lyrics from Tim Rice) tells the well-known Gospel story from the unique perspective of Judas Iscariot and explores the human side of Jesus’ […]

Flutist Philip Dikeman and several of his faculty colleagues from the Blair School of Music presented a varied program of chamber music Friday evening at Turner Recital Hall. Dikeman, a member of the Detroit Symphony for nearly 20 years before coming to Blair, has the technique to make even the most difficult passages sound effortless […]

Less than 5 minutes into Dara Tucker’s double-set at the Nashville Jazz Workshop on Friday night, it was apparent that despite her young face she’s just as charming and elegant as the great female jazz vocalists of years gone by. Her performance was part of a concert series dubbed “Snap on 2&4,” which showcases Nashville’s […]

Repertory Works May 14 & 16 Program A, Thursday at 8pm Program B, Saturday at 7:30pm OZ, 6172 Cockrill Bend Circle Over the course of fifty years, Trisha Brown’s movement investigations found the extraordinary in the everyday and challenged existing perceptions of what constitutes performance. She pushed the limits of chorography and altered modern dance […]

Like many reviewers I generally don’t compliment a film by calling it “predictable.” In the case of Parental Guidance I’m making an exception. Why? Well, perhaps it’s just generosity spurred by the holiday season. Perhaps it’s nice to see a film that doesn’t vex the mind with the thought that our post-9/11 world is filled […]

There are so many aspects to a professional opera production, among them the costumes, sets, props, lights, orchestra and, of course, the singers. But it all begins with what’s on the printed page. The edition of an opera score chosen for a particular presentation colors that production. And for Nashville Opera’s Cinderella (original Italian title […]

Two composers closely associated with New York City’s multifaceted new music organization Bang on a Can are getting their due in Nashville this month. Next weekend, Nashville Opera will present the first Nashville performance of composer David Lang’s terrific avant-garde opera The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. To get us in the mood for that […]

The Nashville City Paper is reporting that financial institutions negotiating with the Nashville Symphony have given the group a deadline of this week for payment of outstanding debts or foreclosure proceedings could begin. Symphony spokeswoman Laurie Davis said Monday afternoon that the NSO is still negotiating with the banks, adding that she is “not aware […]

Cellist Felix Wang and Nashville multi-instrumentalist Roger Wiesmeyer are both having a frenetic month. In late January, Wang, a Blair School of Music professor, gave the world premiere of Michael Alec Rose’s new Cello Concerto. Not one to rest on his laurels, Wang is now gearing up to perform this Friday with his Blakemore Trio, […]

Many films only prick the skin; a few go all the way to bone marrow. In that latter category is writer-director David Lowery’s soulful Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. Since its warm reception at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and a special Critics’ Week screening at Cannes the movie has been compared repeatedly with Terrence Malick’s […]

Belmont University is celebrating more than just the holidays this weekend. On Saturday night, the university presented its annual “Christmas at Belmont” for the first time in its new McAfee Concert Hall. Every note performed inside this acoustically marvelous new venue resonated with the clarity of a sleigh bell. Saturday’s program served as a showcase […]

Nashville Symphony associate conductor Kelly Corcoran has had a huge year working as the interim director of the orchestra’s chorus. She helped prepare a terrific Mahler Symphony No. 8 for the season opener and guided the singers through their first Mendelssohn Elijah. It’s no surprise, then, that the NSO has selected her to become the […]

William Shakespeare tells us through the title character in Macbeth, “Now, good digestion wait on appetite, and health on both!” Mangia Nashville, named “Nashville’s Best Weekly Food Event” by the Nashville Scene, is about to supply great food for good digestion to benefit Nashville Shakespeare Festival. Nick Pellegrino, owner-chef of Mangia Nashville, will create a delightful […]

Nashville Children’s Theatre is definitely excited about presenting the tour of Pinkalicious the Musical. This tuneful explosion of pink fun performed by New York’s Vital Theatre Company will be at NCT for two performances on March 25. “Nashville Children’s Theatre is tickled pink to present Pinkalicious the Musical for our audiences,” says Kathryn Colegrove, NCT managing […]

When Blair School of Music violinist Cornelia Heard announces she’s giving a concert with a few of her family and friends, classical music fans pay attention. Her closest associates, after all, include some of the classical music world’s most distinguished performers. This Saturday evening, Heard will present one of her family-and-friends concerts at Blair’s Turner Recital […]